Government relations

With a team that has years of experience at all levels of government and networks across all sides of politics, The Civic Partnership is well-placed to help clients best position themselves with decision makers, participate in public policy debate and prepare to appear before parliamentary inquiries.

Some of our experts

Some of our success stories

Federal Government owned not-for-profit organisation

Since 2017, Civic has acted as public affairs adviser of record for a major Federal Government owned not-for-profit organisation.

Operating in a contentious area of public policy, the client works with a national stakeholder network that includes all levels of government around Australia.

As an embedded public affairs adviser, Civic has advised on communications, stakeholder engagement and media relations during a period of extraordinary change and growth in the organisation and its work.

Civic provides communications risk management advice on major national communications campaigns and has developed and implemented national stakeholder engagement programs to support multi-million-dollar funding programs.

Working together with the client’s executive and board, Civic provides advice on all aspects of communications, from speechwriting and copywriting, to issues and reputation management, creative campaigns, government and stakeholder engagement and internal communications.

Cancer therapy advocacy group

Civic was the driving force behind a national advocacy campaign to secure increased funding for the treatments of one of the nation’s most common life-threatening diseases in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election.

The relentless advocacy of medical practitioners, patient advocates and local communities, supported by Civic, helped secure tens of millions of dollars to build treatment centres in locations across regional Australia.

Following the re-election of the Government, ongoing engagement with communities, doctors and members of parliament continued to help raise awareness of the benefits of therapy and reinforce the essential role it plays.

Australian medical 3D printer innovator

Australia’s first and only large-scale manufacturer of customised 3D printed medical and healthcare devices was founded in Melbourne in 2016. As an industry first-mover, the company faced the difficulties associated with navigating Australia’s complex regulatory environment.

Civic has provided media relations, industry engagement and regulatory affairs support to the company since its opening, regularly securing speaking engagements at industry events and appearances in industry and national media.

Our strategic engagement and communications advice and guidance helped the company secure regulatory approval for a range of devices, including a 3D-printed swab which was deployed as part of a COVID testing kit.

Strategic inner-city development site

Civic worked with the owner of a landmark CBD site, for three years to secure approval for its proposal to replace the 60m building with a 130m tower – 100 metres higher than the preferred maximum height for the site.

With approval unlikely to be obtained through a standard planning process, a communications and government relations strategy was developed and implemented to generate support among stakeholders, decision-makers and influencers to best position the project to secure planning approval.

A collaborative design process that would consider the project in its broader strategic context – as opposed to the narrow parameters of the site’s planning controls – was proposed to the council and state government planning department. A Victorian-first, the planning process led to approval of a 130m mixed-use redevelopment being granted for the site by the Minister for Planning with the amendment gazetted in 2021.

International construction company

In 2020, Civic was engaged by the prime contractor in a consortium bidding for the design and construction of the largest road transport projects in Victoria’s history. The goal was to strengthen the Milan-based contractor’s brand and reputation in the Victorian market in support of the consortium’s bid.

Civic designed and delivered Building Value for Victoria, a campaign that focused on highlighting the contractor’s commitment to hyper-local content and procurement, corporate social responsibility and workplace safety.

Campaign activity also included media relations, digital and social media, advertising and video and podcast production. Advertising directed people to a purpose-built website that housed campaign content. Media coverage highlighted the contractor’s investment in Victorian infrastructure and the establishment of its Melbourne office.

In October 2021, the Victorian Government awarded the $11.1 billion primary package to the contractor’s consortium.

Disability support services provider

In early 2020, an NDIS registered disability support services provider detected a cyber intruder had accessed two of its email accounts and potentially launched a phishing attack targeting more than 2,000 case managers. The provider’s legal counsel called on Civic to provide communications and issues management advice.

Civic worked with legal counsel to develop a communications and stakeholder engagement strategy that included a notification and recovery plan that would ensure the National Disability Insurance Agency, as well as those whose privacy had been breached, were notified of the incident and kept informed of the investigation. Care was taken to ensure emails, scripts, statements and customer service FAQs were drafted in a way that met the client’s legal obligations, mitigated reputational risk and aligned with the client’s brand voice and communication style.

Once the notification process was complete, Civic was engaged on an ‘on-call’ basis to provide ongoing counsel and communications advice on the client’s recovery and positioning strategy.

Medical device manufacturer

Engaged by an Australian medical device manufacturer to position the company as an innovative leader in its field, Civic was tasked with securing a pan-industry campaign supporting R&D Tax Incentive reform to benefit the Australian economy.

A diverse mix of strategic communication services were provided underpinned by a content creation plan that included industry thought leadership pieces, social media and digital content.

Working with industry bodies and partners, the manufacturer created the Australian Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Incentive – a “patent box” tax break to extend the R&D Tax Incentive by incentivising locally held patents linked to local manufacturing.

A communications and engagement strategy that focused on the creation of an AIM Incentive secretariat was implemented, supported by a website, information materials, stakeholder roadshow, media coverage and submissions to state and federal competitiveness and tax reviews. Ultimately securing bi-partisan support for consideration of a patent box-type tax framework to be implemented in Australia – a significant outcome.

Relocating agricultural infrastructure

Civic developed and implemented an advocacy campaign to support the relocation of a livestock saleyard in regional Victoria.

Population growth meant that the ageing saleyard was located in an increasingly urban area, but the proposed relocation was being opposed by residents near the new site and there was a genuine risk that, in the face of local opposition, council would not grant planning approval.

Using a mix of digital, social and traditional tactics, Civic delivered a campaign that allowed residents in support of the move to voice their opinion and bring balance to the local debate.

A successful outcome was reached with council granting planning approval for the relocation.